


Power

by hetellsastory



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:14:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23805160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hetellsastory/pseuds/hetellsastory
Summary: "The Light cleanses, but it is not gentle." A paladin learns the truth of this when she is made a Lightforged.
Kudos: 1





	Power

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Draecember2019.

Among the four Draenei standing with apparent patience on the starboard command deck of the space-faring vessel _Vindicaar_ , there was only one female. Shareel Gene'tar, relatively young by the standards of her people — a mere three centuries old — was also the only paladin, her intricate and gem-laden plate armor adding sparkle to the less metallic attire of the three males standing with her. Captain Fareeya, head of the Lightforged military forces, was walking toward them from the bridge, the panoramic view of Azeroth far below making a dramatic backdrop for her.

What a striking Draenei she is, Shareel thought, with a pang of envy. Fareeya was extremely pale, as many of the Lightforged were, and a touch taller than most. But her horns were literally a crowning glory, sweeping back from just above her temples, then hooking upwards into an almost circular form above the crown of her head. Such bold curves were exciting to Draenei eyes, and they were not common among those who escaped the homeworld of Argus with Velen so long ago. In fact, Shareel hadn’t seen such horns until she’d met Exarch Yrel in an alternate timeline. A smile raised the corners of Shareel’s mouth at the memory; Yrel was a powerful influence in her life, both inspiring her as a paladin as well as being the object of a… Well, in all honesty, it was a crush of sorts. Shareel’s cheeks turned a slightly darker blue. Her thoughts surrounding Yrel had run from intense loyalty to enthusiastic fan, to fantasies best left alone at the moment. After all, Fareeya was almost to them.

The Captain was also smiling. “Congratulations,” she said, her voice reverberating slightly as did all of the Lightforged. “You have faced the trial, and have emerged successfully. You have quelled your fears, and have been reborn. As Lightforged.”

This was the moment Shareel had been waiting for. When the Army of the Light had joined the battle alongside the forces of Azeroth on Argus, Shareel had been awestruck by their might and their literal connection to the Light. As a paladin, it seemed to be the ultimate expression of her desire to wield the gifts of that power, and she wished that she too could be Lightforged. Then, she learned that she could! The difference between the normal Draenei and the Lightforged was a trial whereby one’s fears and doubts — the manifestations of one’s own Darkness — were faced and defeated. Once passed, the Draenei supplicant was literally remade into a Lightforged. That was all Shareel needed to know. She asked for the trial immediately.

It had not been nearly as easy as Shareel had imagined. Fears are powerful things, and doubts are seductive. In the end, her devotion to the Light carried her through, and she now stood ready to receive the blessing of the Light in a form and to a depth she hadn’t even imagined before meeting the Lightforged.

Captain Fareeya gestured. And Shareel’s entire being exploded.

There was no other way to describe what was happening to her. Light erupted through her so powerfully and abruptly that she didn’t even know where it had come from. Her flesh glowed from within, and the searing sensation that accompanied it was as unwelcome as it was unexpected. Her experience of the Light was from healing. This… _this was agony_. And it did not stop there.

She could feel her bones being remade. They were becoming stronger, she could feel it, but every bone in her body felt like it had a toothache. A bad one. Her teeth, in fact, felt like they were splintering. Her eyes… The pressure in her eyes was so intense she knew they were about to pop.

But the Light made her strong. More powerful than the pain. She stood there, unmoving, her mouth slightly open, breath caught by the sharpness of the pain that ripped through her. But she stood. The pain did not buckle her legs, did not make her pass out. The Light fortified her even as it purified her being. She was being remade in a literal way. Reforged. _Light_ forged.

And then, as abruptly, it was over. She exhaled, calmly. She had felt the pain, but the power overwhelmed it. Her vision was more clear than it had been a moment ago. She could now feel the Light emanating from the others in the room, as though it were sunlight warming her skin. Shareel looked to the other three who had just been Lightforged with her, and their eyes told her that they’d experienced the same thing. Captain Fareeya was grinning at them all, and reached out to touch each in turn, welcoming them to fellowship.

Fareeya glanced at the sides of Shareel’s head. “Nicely formed,” she said, before turning to one of the males, a mage. Shareel binked, and turned her head toward the wall, which was reflective here. Just the turning told her that something had happened to her horns, and catching sight of herself confirmed it. They had grown further, with bolder curves. Shareel grinned broadly, recognizing the geometry of those curves: they were the same as Yrel’s.


End file.
